Method of separating skins from vegetables and fruits



v 0.1. WALDEN.

METHOD OF SEPARATING SKINS FROM VEGETABLES AND FRUITS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21,192].

, Patented Dec. 12, 1922.,

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CEGIL J'. WALDEN, 01E LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

METHOD OF SEPAEATING SKINS FROM VEGETABLES AND FRUITS.

Application filed November 21, 1921. Serial No. 516,689.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CECIL J. WALDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Methods of Separating Skins from Vegetables and Fruits, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to the method of separating or loosening the skin from vegetables and fruits, and is particularly adapted for the blistering and separating or loosenin of the skins from the, flesh of pep pers, chilis, pimientos and other vegetables of a like nature.

In packing plants and canneries it has heretofore generally been the custom to subject the chili peppers to a dry roasting process in order to blister the skins thereon. By the use of this roastingprocess it has been diflicult to apply a uniform heat to the entire surface of the product and as a consequence the skin has not been uniformly blistered, and when the products are taken from the roaster a large propo tion of the skin still adheres to the flesh and has to be removed by hand, thereby incurring additional expense; moreover, during this roasting process arts of some of the chilis beand damaged, and gas forms in some of them and causes them to burst, thus disintegrating the flesh and rendering it unfit for canning purposes.

'It is the object of my invention to overcome the above recited difiiculties by pro.- viding a method whereby the-product will jected to a moist heat to formly throughout its area, thus blistering the skin uniformly and separatin or loosening it from the flesh without ing, burning or scorching the same.

11 order to accomplish the above object 1 com letely submerge the chilis or other vegeta le products of a like nature in a bath of heated oil, preferably of a neutral or tasteless nature, such as cotton seed, or olive oil, which is heated to atemperature above the boiling point and permittin the product to remain in said bath unti the skinbecomes thoroughly blistered and substantially separated or loosened from the flesh, but not for such a duration of time ,as to cook or otherwise affect the character of. the flesh of the vegetable.

As far as I have been able-to determine,

scald it uni isintegratoil has been found to be better suited than any other li uid for this purpose, especially as 1t is possible to raise the temperature of p11 to an extremely high degree of temperaure.

I have found that by heating the oil so that 1t attalns a temperature of approxireadily fall away from the fruit, the rubbing action being supplemented and assisted by an application of cold water in the form of a spray applied to the peppers simultaneously\with the rubbing action, the cold water having a tendency to contract the flesh or meat of the peppers, so that the skins will be readily detached or washed therefrom by the force of the spray of water.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically a convenient form of apparatus that may be employed in carrying out my mvention.

Fig. 1 represents in longitudinal section an apparatus diagrammatic in form of conveniently practismg' my invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, t represents a vat of suitable ength, breadth and depth which is supported in masonry in such manner as to form a fire box 5 provided with an oil burner disposed in said fire box and. under said vat for the heating of a body of oil contented therein. Mounted above the vat 4 and adapted to travel lonlgitudinally therewith is an endless chain be t conveyor .6, which passes over the sprocket wheels 7 and 8 at its dischar e end, and the sprocket wheels 9 10, 11 an 12 at its 'receivin end, said cha1n belt being adapted to be riven by means of the sprocket wheel 8 in the direction indicated by the arrow.

The chain belt 6 is provided able flights 13 which'pass through thebody of the oil in the vat, and in order that the products may be prevented from floating vided with a perforated top, through which revolved by means of the pinion 19, geared the chain belt passes, is mounted in said tank and immersed in said oil.

The conveyor belt 6 passes through a supply hopper 15 to recelve the products and discharges the same in ablistered condition on to a chute 16 which projects into an agitating drum 1%; said drum being supported on the rollers 18 and adapted to be to any source of power, which meshes with the gear ring 20 secured to the peripheral surface of said drum.

The drum 17 is provided'with longitudinally disposed ribs or flutes 21 and the wall thereof is provided with a plurality of perforations 22 in order that said drum and the products therein may be properly drained.

Arranged to pass longitudinally through the drum 1? and disposed adjacent the top thereof, is a water supply pipe 23 adapted to be held stationary and provided with a plurality of sprinkler heads 24 adapted to spray water downwardly on to the products contained in said drum.

In the operation of the apparatus, the oil in the vat a is heated and kept at a uniform desired temperature by means of the flame from the oil burner disposed therebelow. Motion, in the direction indicated by the arrow, is imparted to the conveyor, which conveys the peppers deposited in the hopper 15, through the heated oil. of the conveyor is proportioned to the .tem-

'perature of the oil, in order that the chilis will become thoroughly blistered, .but not burned or cooked during their passage through the vat a from its receiving endto its discharge end.

The scalded chilis drop from the chute 16 into the drum 17 which 1s caused to revolve by mechanism previously described, and are agitated, tumb they pass through said drum, and at the same time cold water is sprayed upon the-m, thus breaking and completely separating or loosening'the skin from the flesh of the chilis without destroying or blemishing said flesh.

By the foregoing method of treating the chilis it will be seen that their entirearea is subjected to a uniform heat to blister danger of gases formin The speed ing them through and su ed and rubbed together as t ea er the skin uniformly therefrom, and that all in the product to cause the same to burst is avoided, and that all danger of the flesh becoming scorched or burned will be avoided. Moreover the skins will become more uniformly separated or loosened and peeled from the flesh, thus eliminating part of this operation by operators.

By employing a tasteless oil in the carrying out of my method, I have found that all of the natural characteristics of the flesh of the product is preserved and that all danger of the flesh becoming scorched or dried is avoided.

What i claim is: 2

1. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruits, comprising immersing them in heated oil.

2. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprisi'ngimmersing them in oil heated to a temperature of approximately 380 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprising immersing them in a heated neutral oil.

4. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprising passing them through a body of boiling neutral oil to blister the skin thereon.

5. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprising initially blistering the skin thereof by immersing them in heated oil, and then subjecting them to a rubbing process. y

6. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprising initially blistering the skins thereof by immersing them in heated oil, and then subjecting them to a rubbing action and a bath of water to remove the loosened or blistered skins. 7. The method of separating the skins from vegetables and fruit, comprising initially blistering the skins th eof by passb erging t em in a vat of heated oil, then itating the mass of blistered products to break and separate the skins from the products and at the same time subjecting them to a bath of water.

In witness that I claim the foregoing T have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st the necessity of performing a 

